Ninjago 30 Day Writing Challenge
by Summer Styles
Summary: A series of one shots based on the Ninjago 30 Day Writing a Challenge on the Tumblr Ninjago tag. Posting them here because it is less of a hassle. Rated T but mostly K appropriate. Follow me! summerier (dot) tumblr (dot) com
1. Cole

**Day 1** : _Write about your favorite character(s)_ \- **Cole**

"And a five, six, seven, eight!"

Ugh, the Cha Cha Cha. The world's most annoying Latin ballroom dance. If Cole's father had not enrolled him at the Marty Oppenheimer School of Performing Arts, Cole would not be dancing.

But he did, and he is.

Cole held his partner the way he was required to and moved his feet to the beat of the music. The song was a Cha Cha Cha classic: Sway by The Pussycat Dolls. With every mention of the word "sway" the girls would sway their hips and stand up straight right at the succeeding beat.

Many of the pairs had the boys accidentally stepping on the girl's toes, but in Cole's case it was the other way around.

"Sorry," she would say each time she stepped on his foot.

The verses and first two choruses passed like no time at all, and in the bridge and instrumental everyone was required to do a freestyle.

At the start of the instrumental Cole let go of his partner and did a few moves on his own. It was not because he wanted to show off, but rather it was because they knew he was the son of Lou Bucket—one of the four members of the Royal Blacksmiths.

Lou was the youngest and the most talented member of the RB's, and he was also the most popular. He was the most popular student of Marty's at his time there, and it was because of the RB's that he met his wife. However, something happened to her that caused them to be apart. Because of this, Cole grew up without his mother.

But that is not what this is about.

Kicks, pirouettes, and several turns were made and several people were stunned. Everyone watched Cole in awe, and he hated it. Dancing was not his passion. He longed for adventure.

He wanted to be free.

At the last beat of the instrumental Cole pulled his partner back close to him and they resumed the dance. The whole class moved in perfect synchronicity this time, as if they were a bunch of copy-pasted animated figures in a television show of a movie. This went on until the song ended.

"Bravo!" the professor yelled in delight. "You all did so well! Especially you, mister Bucket. You move just like your father!"

Cole sighed. "Thank you, sir."

"Let's pack up now, students, and we'll call it a day. See you all next week!"

Cole picked up his bag and headed straight for the registrar's office.

"Good afternoon," the registrar said with a plastic smile. "What can I help you with?"

"Can I get a drop form?" he asked.

The registrar was perplexed. "How many?"

"Six," which was the amount of subjects he had.

The registrar left the desk to get something from further inside the office. She came back with slips of paper in her hand and handed them over to Cole. "Here you go. Why so many drop forms?"

He shrugged. "Because I want to."

It wasn't like his dad was going to notice the refund in his bank account. His dad never touched Cole's bank account. Cole's tuition was placed in an account that his dad made for him because his dad believed that he should be responsible for his own money.

In a way he was: by dropping out of school.

He took the forms and signed them one by one. By the end of the day he gave the slips to his professors and they all signed them. He went back to the registrar and handed the drop forms.

"You are now officially dropped," she said with a frown. "Are you sure about dropping, mister Bucket? It's only been a few weeks."

He shrugged again. "Yeah."

With a smile he went back to his dormitory and packed up his clothes and other personal belongings. He felt no regrets as he put his items in his bag. He actually felt very relieved. This was the first time he was going to do something without his father's awareness. For the first time he felt...

...free.

As he finished packing he hung the strap on his shoulder and took one long look at the life he was leaving behind.

"Well," he said to himself with a smile. "Here I go."

The moment he stepped out of his room, he could feel his shoulders grow lighter. He no longer felt the burden of school, and for once in his life he could do anything he wanted to.

He walked out of the campus and suddenly he felt like he was on air. It felt great for him to be in charge of his own life for once, and he loved the feeling.

With some spare change he took a bus to a more provincial part of Ninjago. When he arrived he looked at the mountains. He smiled and immediately took off his shirt. He stuffed it in his bag, put the bag around his shoulder so that it was hanging behind him, and summoned a small mound of rock to hold on to and started climbing.

He did not remember how he discovered that he could move rocks on his own, but the power came in handy for him as he climbed up the mountain.

When he finally reached the top, Cole felt like he was the king of the world. The feeling of satisfaction courses through his veins as the wind blew his long, black hair away from his face.

It was after this that he saw a man sitting on top of the mountain. This man had a straw hat, a long white beard, and a pot of tea in his hand.

"Care for a drink?" the old man offered.

Cole blinked twice before nodding.

He sat next to the man and took a teacup from him. "Thank you."

"You're strong," the man said. "I could use someone like you."

Cole was confused. "Someone like me? For what?"

The man looked at him like he was naive, but he immediately smiled. "You'd make a great ninja. How would you like to be in my team? I would really appreciate it if someone like you went under my tutelage and trained with me."

"Who are you, exactly?" Cole asked. Now he was very confused.

"I am Wu, son of the First Spinjitzu Master," the man replied. "If you join my team, you may call me 'sensei'."


	2. Morro

**Day 2:** _Write about your favorite villain(s) -_ **Morro**

"You made me believe!"

Those were the last words he said to Sensei Wu before he ran off.

He did not know where he was going, and he did not care. All that mattered to Morro was that he was as far away from the monastery as he could possibly be. He did not want to be anywhere near because he might just he reminded of his disappointment.

His legs took him to a village by the foot of the mountain where the monastery sat. He noticed a little tavern and he entered there. He sat at the bar and checked his pockets for spare change. He didn't remember going back to his room and get his cash back. Thankfully he still had a few coins left for a few helpings of sake.

"Just get me whatever you have," he told the bartender as he slapped his coins on the bar.

The bartender left and came back holding a small clay cup with warm liquid inside it. "It's warm sake. It's very popular during these cold seasons. You're not wearing much for Autumn. I thought you'd need something warm to drink."

"Thanks," Morro said and held his cup.

He looked at his own reflection in the sake and scrutinized his own features. His eyes were dull from his disappointment, his cheeks were hollow from running, his lips were chapped from not eating or drinking for a while, his hair was a mess from the wind he may have caused out of anger. What really got his attention was the green lock of hair that grew in the mass of black hair on his head.

 _You're not the green ninja,_ he internally scolded himself. _You're not the green ninja and you never will be. What made you think that you were actually the destined savior of Ninjago when not even Sensei Wu believes you're the chosen one?_

He took one large sip from his drink in frustration. The warm alcoholic beverage slid down his throat with a bit of a sting, but the warmth enveloped his body like a kotatsu—a table with a heated blanket underneath it—just like the one in the monastery.

The though of the monastery angered him again and he took another sip at the beverage. His cup was empty and he signaled for the bartender to give him another helping. When his glass was refilled, he took another sip.

His head started to grow heavy and he felt like he was going to collapse. He took another sip at the drink and his vision started to get slightly cloudy.

 _Is this what it feels like to be intoxicated?_ he asked himself.

Things started to move in a quick pace. He barely remembered talking to a woman who mentioned she was a descendant of the master of lightning. He did not remember what happened next, but he remembered waking up next to her in an unfamiliar place. He gathered his clothes, put them on, and ran.

He got tired almost instantly, and he decided to use his powers to take him anywhere. He summoned for the wind to carry him and take him as far away as possible.

When he grew exhausted from using his elemental power, he landed in a desert with mountains and caves all about. He looked around for some form of shelter from the blazing sun and found a cave. He entered the cave and noticed that it was noticeably warmer deeper inside the cave than near the outside.

Finally alone, he decided to use his powers again, but to train his abilities rather than for traveling or recreational purposes. He did not care if the inside was warm because his winds would just make things cooler inside.

A punch, a kick, a few turns, and several punches and kicks later, he noticed the small stones on the ground bounce. He did not mind this and continued with his training.

It was when bigger rocks started to shake when Morro got worried. What was happening?

The sound of water gushing out from underground frightened him, and he ran. However, due to his exhaustion he could run further and the water caught up to him. He attempted to block the water with his elemental power, but he could not hold for much longer. He was too far into the cave to escape.

It was his time. He just wished that he did not believe that he could possibly be the Green Ninja. If he did not, he would not be feeling any anger or regrets.

He stopped using his powers and sat in surrender as the boiling hot water made contact with his skin.


	3. What do I ship?

**Day 3:** _Write about your favorite ship_

"What the hell is that?"

"This machine here is the Perfect Match Finder 2.0. This device could tell anybody who they are compatible with. Just scan yourself and the machine will give you a computer-generated image of your ideal partner!"

"This better not give any bogus results, Doctor Borg. If this machine screws up like before, I'm gonna kick your sorry shins."

"Go ahead. It's not like I will feel any pain there."

I sigh. I take a step in the machine's scanner, and another. The machine scans me from the top down, and from the bottom up. Slowly, a holographic image shows up in front of my eyes. So far the image has got my ideals right: rather muscular male that's pretty tall. Not tan, but not pale. The bottom half of the face forms and he has a cute and rather determined smile—not a smirk, which is good, because smiles are more attractive than smirks.

The face finishes to form and he looks incredibly familiar. Those bright orange eyes and bushy eyebrows look like someone I know.

And then the hair appears. My perfect match is—

"COLE?!" I yell. "There must be some mistake. I can't be with Cole. Your machine is broken, Doctor Borg."

"It's not broken," he tries to reassure me. "This machine really tells you who your ideal partner is. Yours just happens to be Cole."

"But Cole was the one who showed up for Nya's Perfect Match last time. What if the result everyone gets is Cole?"

He shakes his head. "It tells you who you want to have as your partner. Trust me. Call out one of the other ninja and tell them to scan themselves."

"Fine," I tell him. "I'll call one of them...smart ass..."

I go out of the room and attempt to call one of them. However, as soon as I exit the room the first one I see is Cole.

"Cole!" I say in surprise.

He's human now, but I don't remember him transforming to a human being. It feels like he was still a ghost this morning. I wonder what happened.

"Oh, hey," he says with his smile. "Were you gonna call someone?"

"N-n-no!" I stammer. "Okay, yes. Doctor Borg wants us to try this crappy invention that shows our ideal partner."

He laughs. "That's what got Jay and I fighting a few years back. What makes you think I'm gonna try that machine?"

I shrug. "Maybe it will work for you. It gave me a stupid result."

"Who'd you get?" he asks.

I blush at his words. He's the one I got, but I don't want him to know that. He's my friend, and I don't want him to think of me differently. Sure, I have a bit of a crush on him. Maybe these feelings are new. I don't know! I've always been into girls, but I've recently grown interested in guys as well. Is it wrong to find him attractive?

"Wouldn't you like to know?" I reply.

His smile disappears. "I kind of want to know, but if you don't wanna tell me, that's okay too. I respect your decision. Anyway, where is this machine you were telling me about?"

I gesture to the room. "In here. Doctor Borg is here, too."

He enters the room and I follow behind him. I need to know if the machine is broken or not.

"Ah, hello, Cole," Doctor Borg greets him with a smile. "Would you like to test out the Perfect Match Finder 2.0? It works this time, I am one hundred percent certain! It's very accurate because it displays the ideal partner for you. I guess you can say it has the ability to read your mind. I've tried it on myself and my ideal partner was very accurate."

Cole nods. "Sure! I'm pretty curious to see what comes up."

I'm nervous now. I doubt that I'll end up on the scanner's picture. If there's anyone that Cole would be into, it would be this girl, Seleil. I've never met her, but he seems to have taken a bit of an interest in her. He could also have Nya for a perfect match, like Nya had him before. But it could be Jay...

He steps into the machine and his body gets scanned from the top down and from the bottom up. A picture forms in front of him but I don't see who it is. He is blocking the view.

"Wow," he says in surprise. "That's pretty accurate."

Doctor Borg looks at the result with a smile. "I told you."

Now I'm curious. Who did he get? Please don't be Seleil.

He turns around and the picture comes into view. It was...

"Kai, who did you get?" he asks me in a serious tone.

 _...me._

I don't know how to react. Should I be happy that he likes me or should I be weirded out by the fact that Cole likes boys? I've never seen him as the type to like guys. He always seemed straight like a ruler. Maybe he was like those flexible rulers we used to have as kids—straight, but could also bend. Like, he appears straight, but in reality he could like anyone he wants to.

"Who did you get?" he asks again.

I look down in nervousness. "You, Cole."

He approaches me, shock still evident in his face. "You like me?"

I nod. "Yeah...do you hate me for that?"

When he was finally in front of me, he crouches and hugs me. "No, not at all. In fact, I'm so relieved."

"R-relieved?" I ask, confused. "Cole, do you like me?"

I feel him nod.

"Since when?" I ask.

"Since we entered the Digiverse," he replies. "You were such an idiot back then. You hated technology, and I actually found that kind of cute. You were the country boy so you had absolutely no idea how to work with gadgets and other electronic devices. Your cluelessness was adorable, and it was because of it that I started growing feelings for you."

I blush at his words. "That long?"

He nods again.

"I like you too, Cole," I tell him.

He lets me go and smiles. "Thank you, Kai."

His face moves closer to mine and I close my eyes as I prepare myself for the eventual contact of our lips. However, our lips don't make contact as a loud ringing sounds off nearby.

I open my eyes and I see that I am in my room and my alarm clock is going off. I turn the alarm off and I get up from bed.

A voice speaks while I try to register what was happening.

"Rise and shine, Kai. Zane cooked you guys breakfast and I can't eat any of it."

I look at the door and I see Cole, green and translucent, but still very handsome.

"I'll be right up," I reply as I try to keep myself from blushing.

He smiles that cute smile he always does. It would look much cuter if he wasn't a ghost, but it still looks good. "Don't take too long or I might just turn human and eat all this food! If I were human again, I'd probably be starving!"

When he leaves I lay back down on my bed.

 _Well damn,_ I tell myself. _I think I have a crush on Cole._


	4. What else do you want? You!

**Day 4:** Write a one shot expanding on a moment on the show

 **Season 5 Episode 1 - Winds of Change**

"The armor's nice, but it's not the only thing I want to possess."

Lloyd was confused. Wasn't the armor what he wanted in the first place? "What else do you want?"

The ghost smirked, evil glowing in his eyes. "You!"

Lloyd gasped. In a split second, the ghost entered his body, completely taking control.

The night watch was right. He could see his every thought and memory. Lloyd could see Ninjago turning into a ghostly realm, all dark with the exception of the eerie green glow caused by ghosts. Lloyd tried to close his eyes, but he remembered that these were thoughts and he could not escape from them.

The picture changes almost instantly and he could see a flashback. There was a trash can and a pair of hands digging through it. That was when he heard a voice.

He felt himself get out of the trash can and he saw a familiar looking man, but how can that be? The man looked like a blond Jay!

"I'm sorry," Lloyd felt himself say.

"It's okay," blond Jay said before running back to the building.

The building looks familiar...it's uncle Wu's monastery! Was this ghost a human before he turned into a ghost? And how far back was he?

Blond Jay came back with a plate of food in his hand. "Here, have some. It looks like you really need it."

Lloyd felt his arm reach for a piece of bread and eat it. The memory was clouded by another flashback where he saw a woman smiling at him.

"Eat up, Morro," she said with a smile. "Every good boy needs his strength. I even made your favorite—pork buns!"

This memory faded when he saw blond Jay again. "You can have more if you want."

Blond Jay and the surroundings warped into another setting. They quickly turned into a dojo with several training dummies.

Lloyd attacked a few of the dummies with punches and kicks, but eventually he summoned wind to knock down the last of the dummies.

 _So he's the Master of Wind,_ Lloyd thought to himself.

An applause came from the other side of the room. Lloyd saw blond Jay.

"Well done, Morro," he said.

Lloyd bowed. "Thank you, Sensei Wu."

 _Uncle Wu?_ Lloyd asked himself. _Why does uncle Wu look like Jay?_

"I think it's time," uncle Wu said. "Meet me in the display room in ten minutes."

Lloyd nodded. "Yes, Sensei. I will be there."

The image warped again and it turned into the display room. The four golden weapons were laid out on the floor and uncle Wu was holding the green gi. Lloyd looked about and looked back at uncle Wu who just bowed his head and frowned.

"I'm sorry, Morro," uncle Wu apologized. "I guess I was mistaken. You're not the green ninja after all."

"No, that can't be!" Morro said in anger.

The image warped once again but this time they were not Morro's thoughts—they were his.

It was an image of his father appeared in front of him. He was smiling at him. Out of nowhere a dark cloud took a hold of him and pulled him away into the Cursed Realm.

"Dad!" Lloyd yelled as he tried to reach out his hand to get his father back. However, his hand was out of reach.

"Lloyd!" his father yelled, but alas, he was pulled away. This brought tears to Lloyd's eyes.

"HEY!" someone yelled, startling Lloyd from his thoughts.

Lloyd wanted to look around but his head was not his to control. "Who is this?"

"I'm Morro," the person replied. "Could you not cry? I'm trying to take control here but you're not making it easy with your sappy emotions."

Control...that was right. This was the ghost in the museum.

"What do you want with me?" Lloyd asked.

Morro cackled. "I can't believe my flashbacks didn't give it away, you useless ninja."

"All I saw was that you were Sensei Wu's pupil," Lloyd replied. "What more was I supposed to see?"

Morro sighed. "You shouldn't have been the Green Ninja. It should have been me!"

"You?" Lloyd asked. "Why would you have been the Green Ninja? I was the one who saved all those people from the Overlord. I became the Golden Ninja. The green Gi chose me. I don't know if you know this yet, but you're decades too late to be the Green Ninja."

Morro chuckled this time. Lloyd could tell he was plotting something sinister but Morro's thoughts never showed up.

"What is it?" Lloyd asked.

He could feel his body release itself from the statue of the serpentine with ease. He started walking towards the door of the exhibit and out the museum entrance.

"It's never too late to right what was wrong," Morro said simply. And with that, he flew.

 _He could fly without an Elemental Dragon?_ Lloyd asked himself. _How is that possible?_

"Anything's possible when you control the air," Morro replied. "The atmosphere is your oyster. Now, tell me, where is the old man hiding now?"

Lloyd remembered the tea shop but quickly tried to forget it. However, that short recollection was all Morro needed to know where to go.

"Steep Wisdom? That man has never been good with making choices," Morro spat. "So, tell me, has he settled down yet? I'm very curious."

"I won't tell you anything," Lloyd replied.

Morro chuckled again. "You don't have to say anything. I can see your every thought, young man. Even just a flash of a memory can be remembered easily."

The thought of uncle Wu and his mother entered his mind. As much as Lloyd did not want to recall it, he did because Morro brought up the idea of uncle Wu settling down.

"Is that..." Morro started to ask. "Garmadon's wife?"

"How do you know her?" Lloyd asked.

"Your father was like a celebrity back in the day," Morro replied, "and everyone got the news when he tied the knot. He was Chen's apprentice, and everyone knew Chen. Any friend of Chen was as famous as he was. Who would've thought Wu would have the guts to go with her after her husband and his brother's untimely banishment to the Cursed Realm."

Lloyd had to agree. His mom was so quick to agree to be uncle Wu's—dare he think it—girlfriend, and her decision was rather questionable. Her husband was just banished to the Cursed Realm not too long ago. Perhaps she already had some existing feelings towards uncle Wu that he did not know about...

"We're here," Morro said as he set Lloyd's body down on the ground.

As his body walked, Lloyd could hear the voice of a young girl.

"It's Lloyd!"


	5. High School AU 1

Skipping Day 5 like a boss!

Day 6: Write your favorite AU - High School AU

This fic is basically in the same universe as my actual High School AU fic "The Ninja Club" because of the characterizations and personalities and cliques, but they are not related. I decided to use the high school AU because it's easy and fun to write. Plus, I am planning on using day 20 for a companion fic for this chapter.

For those who haven't read my fic yet, here are there characters:

•Kai - popular boy, a big flirt, provincial, hates advanced technology

•Jay - inventive and kind of wimpy and clumsy (no change there lol), loves shop class

•Cole - dancer who hates dancing, lives for adventure, a leader, mysterious on the outside

•Zane - mostly mechanical, diagnosed with Aspergers Syndrome (or with high-functioning autism), techie

•Lloyd - reformed bad boy, still has bad habits, puberty hit him like the truck in Inazuma Eleven (everyone dies/is thought to be dead because of a truck, I'm not even kidding) which gave him instant popularity

•Nya - inventive and loves advanced technology

"Hey Kai."

Kai looked back to see where the voice came from and he saw a pair of girls pass his direction. He winked and smiled at them. "Hey, ladies."

The two girls squealed like the pigs he had to feed back when he lived in Ignatia. They did not look like them, but they sure sounded like them.

He stopped by his locker and turned the dial with his combination. When the combination was finished the door opened. He got one of his books, his small red binder, and a pen before closing the locker door.

"Hey, Kai," said the voice of one of his friends.

"Yo, Jay," Kai replied. "Can I copy off of your homework in Geometry?"

Jay looked appalled. "What? You didn't do your homework? I thought you promised you were gonna do all your homework this year except for Chemistry!"

Kai laughed. "I'm kidding! I'm a good boy this year and I did my Geometry homework."

That was something Kai loved to do—mess around with people. Mostly Jay, since Jay was the one going out with his younger sister. One could probably say the two were best friends despite the small rivalry caused by Kai's protective nature towards his sister.

Jay sighed in relief. "For a moment you made me panic."

"I'm not gonna make you panic like that," Kai said as he and Jay made a turn towards their empty classroom. "I'm your friend. Sometimes I'm an asshole, but I'm still your friend."

Before the two walked to their respective seats, Kai pulled Jay close and planted a long kiss on his forehead. Like always.

It was something Kai liked to do with Jay and Cole. It was probably because they were shorter than him. However, nowadays, he did something else with Cole while they were alone together.

"If you keep doing that, I might fall in love with you," Jay joked.

Kai released the kiss and walked towards his desk. "Not likely. I'll see you at lunch?"

More classmates entered the room and the two were divided by a sea of faces that neither of them cared about.

0-0-0-0-0

Jay watched as his teacher explained their lesson about the next few postulates and theorems. He definitely forgot about the homework, but nobody—not even Jay—bothered to bring it up.

As the teacher waved his arms and drew scribbles on the chalkboard, Jay started to think about how he could ask Nya, Kai's sister, out on a second date. Their first date to Mega Monster Amusement Park was a success despite his jitters.

Perhaps a trip to the movies? The new Fritz Donnegan movie was going to come out soon and Jay needed to get tickets early.

Maybe she would prefer just to Netflix and chill. They could always stream the latest episodes of The Walking Dead or they could marathon episodes of Some Assembly Required. Food would be a lot cheaper, and fare would be inexpensive since they lived in Lloyd's place not too far from school.

Jay would like to think he actually had a shot with Nya. She was cute and funny, but she was also not afraid to express herself. They shared shop class together and Nya built a lot of things that were better than what Jay did. Since she and Jay had a lot in common, he had a feeling that she would say "yes" to a second date.

The bell rang and Jay stood up. He waved Kai goodbye but he frowned when he saw that Kai was talking to another guy. He ended up leaving the classroom without Kai waving back.

Just as he exited the room Jay bumped into something—or rather, into someone.

"Sorry!" Jay apologized.

"It's okay," replied a familiar voice. "You were always the clumsy one anyway."

Jay looked at the person and saw his other friend Cole. "Oh shoot, I'm so sorry Cole!"

"Dude, relax," Cole said. "It's not your fault. We should be heading to class now. Might as well walk together now, right?"

Jay nodded as he put his arm behind Cole's back. Cole, in turn, put his arm on Jay's shoulders. Their height difference was significant, considering that Jay only reached Cole's clavicle.

 _My what?_ Cole used to ask, even though he already knew what it meant.

 _Your collarbone, stupid_ , Jay would answer, even though he already knew that Cole knew the answer.

Jay chuckled at the memory.

"What's so funny?" Cole asked. "Was it something I said?"

Jay shook his head. "It's nothing. We're gonna be late for English. Move it!"

0-0-0-0-0

Cole decided to surprise his small friend by slipping an arm underneath each of his underarms to carry him in a piggyback style.

"What the hell, Cole?" Jay asked, obviously surprised.

"We're gonna be late!" was Cole's reply as he began to sprint down the hall to reach their classroom for English.

Cole set his friend down by his desk before walking to his own and eventually sitting down.

He looked at Jay and saw him smiling. This caused Cole to smile too. At least he could make his friend happy. The joy of his mates brought joy to Cole, too.

"What's your next class?" he saw Jay mouth to him.

"Chemistry with Kai and Zane," Cole mouthed back.

Cole was advanced in most of his classes. Despite being the youngest of the four, he always seemed to fit in because they shared a majority of their classes together. The reason why he was advanced in his studies was because he was enrolled a year early prior to transferring schools. He should be in his junior year but due to being enrolled in high school at fourteen he was younger than his peers.

Jay nodded and looked to the front of the room.

The teacher just arrived and he seemed happy. His happy looked almost fake. Cole found it unsettling.

The teacher announced some upcoming event that was going to happen about a month from then. Every student in their class should participate. It sounded like a school play, but it was exclusively for their class.

"The story is probably a little familiar to you—our class will be performing 'High School Musical'! Isn't that just grand?"

That meant instead of auditions, the roles and crew members were chosen by drawing lots.

Each member of the class was required to pick a ballot from a hat, and since the drawing was alphabetical, Cole was fourth.

He gulped as he reached for the hat. This teacher had a strategy: put the important parts at the bottom. He had done this before, Cole remembered, since he had to get his test papers from this teacher's desk and his paper was always near the bottom of the pile, and the bottom had the higher scores. He picked a piece of paper from the top and immediately sat at his desk.

"Nobody opens their slips until I give a signal," the teacher said. "Once everyone gets their slip of paper, I will count down."

Several boys and girls later, Jay was the last to get his slip of paper. Once he sat down, the teacher started to count.

"One...two...three!"

Cole opened his slip of paper and he sighed in relief. He got the role of "friend 1", whatever that role was.

A familiar voice gasped. Cole looked at Jay and saw that his face had a shocked expression plastered on it.

"Of all roles in High School Musical, I get Kelsey?" Jay asked. "I can't act, much less act like a girl!"

Cole chuckled, not because he knew that Jay could not act, but because he had dressed up as a girl before. They were trying to uncover the identity of the mysterious Samurai X, a blogger who was posting negative stuff about the four of them—Cole, Jay, Kai, and Zane—and Jay had a brilliant idea of crossdressing to get Samurai's attention. It did not work.

"Who got the role of Troy Bolton?"

One by one the teacher announced the roles, including Kelsey. Friend 1 was mentioned shortly after.

"Friend 1?" the teacher asked.

Cole raised his hand.

"Your character is actually Jason Cross," the teacher explained. "I forgot his name as I wrote down the ballots. Your role actually fits you, since you have the same hair."

Cole put down his hand and shrugged. "I've been told I look like Dan Castady."

0-0-0-0-0

Zane stood outside the room where he was going to have Chemistry. He had to wait for his friends outside the room because he did not know where their classrooms were.

He looked at the people who passed by him. None of them looked back at him, but that was okay. He got used to it. People saw him as a freak because someone mentioned his Aspergers in the Samurai X blog. It was supposed to be kept secret by the five members of their group, but someone mentioned it to Nya who ended up posting it as Samurai X. He was not mad at Nya for that, but he just wished that nobody knew.

There was one other person besides his four friends that did not alienate him, and that was Pixal. She was this girl he shared classes with who looked and sounded like a robot, even though she was not. They shared a common interest in technology, which was how they got close in the first place.

He and Pixal did not share their previous classes that day, but they did share Chemistry along with Kai and Cole. He almost did not want to be her partner since he felt bad for choosing her over either of them, but they insisted that he pair up with Pixal and they paired up with each other so Zane could get closer to other people.

"Hey Zane," a familiar male voice called out. He looked up and saw Cole.

He smiled at the sight of a familiar face. "Hello, Cole. Have you seen Kai?"

"No," Cole replied. "Not yet. I have stuff to tell him though. Are you doing anything for your English class next month?"

Zane shook his head. He did not have English that week yet, but he was bound to find out if their class had anything to do for the Literature Festival. He and Pixal shared that class so they were bound to find out together.

"Good for you," Cole said. "I have to act! Alongside Jay, even. Have you seen High School Musical? I play the stupid boy with long hair that asks Miss Darbus dumb questions. Jay plays the pianist."

"I thought the pianist was a female," Zane stated, confused.

"She is," Cole replied. "The roles were chosen at random, and Jay ended up getting her part. Troy's friend Chad is played by a girl, while Gabriella's friend Taylor is played by a guy. There were a bunch of other roles with switched up genders, but we have to act as is."

This got Zane curious. "I wonder what we will be doing."

"Hopefully something not as humiliating," Cole said with a smile.

Zane looked down at Cole who was looking in a different direction. Cole's smile widened and he waved.

"Kai, over here!" Cole said, his cheeks turning into a subtle shade of pink.

That was something Zane noticed about Cole—he had an interest in their hot-headed friend. Pixal had pointed it out some time after he had noticed it, but her speculations just helped confirm it.

"You two can go straight to the room," Zane said as Kai approached the two of them. "I will wait for Pixal."

Kai smiled at Cole and then at Zane. "You can stay here with us. We can wait for Pixal with you."

"Yeah," Cole agreed. "We're a team, remember? A team must stick together."

"But what if she arrives late?" Zane asked.

"Late or early, we go together," Kai replied.

Cole nodded. "And besides, is Pixal ever late?"

Shortly after, a familiar head of silver hair arrived in front of them. "Good morning, Zane, Cole, Kai."

"Hey Pixal," Cole and Kai said in unison.

Zane smiled. "Hello, Pixal. How are you feeling today?"

Pixal smiled back as her bright green eyes shone like peridots in the sunlight. "I feel fine. Today does not feel too out of the ordinary, so today will be a good day."

Her voice was almost robotic, which is what Zane admired about her. He himself was almost robotic as well, but not in the same sense as she was.

"You seem glad today," she said as the three walked inside the classroom. "Is it because I am with you today or is it because you changed your left leg prosthesis? Your stance today appears to be more even today than it was last week."

The four headed to their respective tables—Zane and Pixal at the front of the middle row, and Cole and. Kai at the desk behind them.

"I actually had both the right and left leg prostheses adjusted," Zane replied. "They are not quite ready for physical activity yet. I have those prostheses waiting at home."

The professor arrived with a smile on his face. It looked like Chemistry was going to be good that day.

0-0-0-0-0

"Lloyd!"

Lloyd looked around to see where the voice came from. He saw a pair of girls hide behind a bush and peek out slightly. Once he had his back turned he heard them giggle.

He sighed. As much as he liked the attention, he did not like the idea of anyone being interested in him romantically, whether male or female. It was already annoying enough that some of the girls—as he heard them say—"ship" him with Kai, but what was even more annoying was when people asked to take pictures with him and claimed he was their boyfriend.

 _Maybe this was what Adrien felt like in his school_ , Lloyd thought to himself.

Adrien was the lead male in a television series that Lloyd watched and became a fan of. Like Adrien, Lloyd was very popular and everyone loved him. Unlike Lloyd, Adrien had one fan in particular that bothered him. Lloyd had several. What they also shared was that they had close friends to talk to. Adrien had his buddy Nino—though there was a specific secret he could not say to anybody—and Lloyd had Kai, Jay, Cole, and Zane. They were like his older brothers, and he felt like he could tell them anything.

He waited in their usual spot behind the school campus—the large tree in the middle of the school garden. He felt like he had so much to tell them when they got back, especially what they had to do for the Lit Fest the next month.

Lloyd was assigned to play Romeo, and he did not like it. He sucked at acting, but he did not want to let his class down so he agreed to it. He had an understudy, and he would rather just have the understudy replace him throughout the entirety of the duration of rehearsals up until the performance.

Jay was the first to arrive at the area since he did not share a class with the other three at that period. Lloyd remembered him mentioning he had Shop that day instead of Chemistry.

"What's up, little man?" Jay asked.

"I got chosen for Romeo," Lloyd replied.

Jay's face lit up. "That's awesome, bro!"

Lloyd shook his head in disagreement. "No, it's not awesome. You guys know I suck at acting, and you all know Romeo has to kiss Juliet more than once. I don't like the idea of having to kiss anyone, even if it's just for a dumb play."

How Lloyd wished he could smoke a cigarette to calm down his nerves. However, unlike Darkley School, his middle school, he could not smoke in campus. His father had eyes on him like a hawk, and there were tattletales everywhere so anyone who could smell cigarette smoke or alcohol would immediately report it to a teacher who would report it to his father.

He did, luckily, have a thermos filled with soda-flavored beer mixed with a lot of apple juice, so that worked in his favor.

"You don't have to be romantically interested in someone to kiss them," Jay said in an attempt to calm. Lloyd down. "There's also such thing as fake kissing. You could always try that."

"Kissing is kissing," Lloyd argued. "And even if I fake it, I will still bomb the play—and not in a good way. I'm gonna be a disaster, Jay!"

Jay chuckled. "You have it kind of easy. I might not be the lead role, but I have to play a girl! You and I both suck at acting, but at least you're a guy. I'm gonna have to pretend to be a girl. A shy girl! I'm neither shy nor a girl! My role's gonna be impossible!"

"I have to pretend to be in love," Lloyd said. "You have no idea how hard that is going to be. I don't even know what it's like to fall in love. I'm aromantic!"

The two looked at each other and started to laugh. Lloyd knew Jay was going to have it rough for his play, and he knew that he was going to have it rough for his own play too. They were both going to blow, that was a given.

"What is so funny?"

The two looked at the owner of the voice and saw Zane. He was not with the other to or with Pixal.

"Where are the others?" Lloyd asked. "And where's Pixal?"

"Pixal is with her brother Cyrus because I assumed that she might not exactly be welcome here," Zane replied. "Is our area not exclusively for the five of us?"

Lloyd shrugged. "Don't ask me."

Jay shrugged as well. "The one you should be asking is Cole. He's our leader. He'll hear you out."

"Speaking of which," Lloyd interrupted. "Where are Cole and Kai?"

"They were catching up with each other when I left them," Zane replied. "I told them I was just going to accompany Pixal to her brother and they told me to go ahead. I assumed they would be here by now."

Lloyd saw two familiar figures behind Zane. There was a tall, light-skinned muscular boy with black hair, and a taller, tan-skinned brunette with scars on his face and arms. He recognized them as Kai and Cole.

"Hey!" Lloyd called out. "Over here!"

The two looked in his direction and smiled. "Hey!" they called out in unison.

"What took you guys so long?" Jay asked as they neared their area.

Cole shrugged and looked away. "Stuff, mostly just telling Kai about what happened in English this morning."

Lloyd noticed Jay roll his eyes. "I was just talking about that with Lloyd. I hate the idea of pretending to be a girl!"

"You don't have to pretend, 69 Watts," Kai told Jay as he addressed him in a nickname that Jay came up with. "You're already a girl."

"Oh snap!" Cole exclaimed. "Fire Hazard's burned you again!"

Lloyd sighed. _There they go again._ The three of them were always arguing, and Cole and Kai were usually on the same side.

"Can you not do that right now?" Lloyd asked, slightly pissed. "I'm getting stressed from the play I have to perform, and I don't have the time to hear your petty arguments!"

The three quieted and immediately apologized.

"Something tells me Kai does not know what our English class is going to do for the Literature Festival next month," Zane said suddenly. "Our English class is tomorrow and Mister Fenwick has not made any announcements for our class today."

Kai nodded. "Yeah. You guys get to perform while Zane and I have to wait for what we're gonna do. We're prolly just gonna write stuff or something."

"Whatever you're gonna do, I hope it's not gonna be as scarring or as difficult as what I'm gonna do," Lloyd said.

He wished he could just give up. He did not want to be Romeo. The only thing he could do was wait for a sign that would mean he did not have to play Romeo anymore.


	6. Summer Styles

**Day 7:** _Write a terrible self-insert OC_ \- **Summer**

 **Author's note:** I was planning on making this sort of like a companion for the high school AU from the previous chapter, but that would be unfair to the canon universe. Instead, I would make this take place in between season 2 and 3, when Lloyd was the Golden Ninja.

I'm gonna make it bad, but not bad enough that it's stupid. I'm just gonna make it so annoyingly cliché. I am still going to put a lot of effort into writing this because I still want this to be good. Anyway, have my self insert!

New Ninjago City. That was what the rebuilt city was called. It was more technologically advanced than what the city used to be, and I did not like it. I liked Ninjago better when it had less hovercrafts and LED screens. It was not long ago when the town was filled with cars and windows and friendly faces. But now all I see are robots and ads for products I do not even want.

What I really want, though, to really make it feel like the old days, is to see the Golden Ninja. He used to be the Green Ninja, but when he saved us from the Overlord, he became Gold. He really was our savior, and there was no denying that. Perhaps if I saw him, my nostalgia would not be for nothing.

Who am I? I am Summer. Summer Styles, to be exact. I am twenty-one years old, and I am in love with the Golden Ninja.

0-0-0-0-0

I wake up to the sound of my alarm clock again. I think I snoozed it about three or four times this morning. I snooze it again anyway because I want to continue my dream.

In my dream I was trapped in a tower and I needed to be rescued. The Golden Ninja came to my rescue and he slew the Overlord with his Golden Powers. He reigned victorious and we got out of the tower together. After that he brought me to his place (in the dream he lived in a mansion but in reality I think he just lives in a more humble abode). There the two of us shared our first kiss. We even made out. Before we went any further, the clock alarmed. Each time I snoozed, we would always just kiss again and make out again before the alarm rang off again.

The alarm rings again and this time I stop it. If I can't even go all the way in a dream, I might as well just give up on it.

I walk to the kitchen and heat some of yesterday's leftovers in the microwave. After that I went to the small sack of rice on the counter and scooped some rice into the rice cooker pot. I washed the rice twice before adding the right amount of water to cook the rice in. I then put the pot in the rice cooker before closing it and switching it on.

The microwave beeps and I open it. The Spam from yesterday's breakfast looks good now. However, my rice is not done yet, so it's gonna get cool again.

I leave the plate of Spam on the table and look for more food in the cupboards and the refrigerator. I find a carton of chocolate milk in the fridge and get that.

Knowing the rice will take long, I go to the living room and turn on the TV. I see him again on TV and my heart begins to race.

Oh how I wish to be able to see him in real life. That would be a dream come true. But how can someone as famous as him notice someone as ordinary as me?

Ordinary? Yeah, I am. I just lost my job as a teacher in Darkley School for Bad Boys because I got caught "fraternizing" with one of the student teachers. It was not my fault. He was young and I was slightly older and he wanted someone to talk to. Was it my fault that we got led to the janitor's closet and made out there?

Maybe if I went out with the Golden Ninja none of this would happen to me. And if maybe I knew who the Golden Ninja was under the mask, my life would have been much simpler.

Something clicks in the kitchen which interrupts my train of thought. What was that?

I look back and see the rice cooker glow a green light, which means that the rice is done. I approach the rice cooker and open it. It looks like I cooked a lot of rice for one day. This is kind of upsetting.

What's so good about cooking rice if there is no one else to cook it for?

I eat breakfast and head for the bathroom. There I take my bath and brush my teeth before heading to the bedroom to get dressed. I pick out a cute, floral dress that makes me look younger than I already am.

Once dressed, I head out to the city.

0-0-0-0-0

The city is not the most fun place to be. It just feels so empty with all this technology roaming around the streets. Whose idea was it to replace gas powered cars with electric cars that float? Okay, maybe these new cars are more environmentally friendly than Diesel engines. Still, the city feels pretty dead.

I head for the supermarket and pick up some quick shopping. What do I need again? I look over the list I made from a few days ago.

\- Spam (seems like a given)

\- rice (once again, a given)

\- eggs

\- tea

\- hot chocolate

\- cereal (if it's too expensive, then nevermind)

\- chips

As I head for the aisle for the canned foods I hear an alarm. That's not something I hear everyday.

 _"Attention, shoppers,"_ comes an announcement from the intercom. _"We advise you to calm down and exit the shopping area in an orderly fashion. There will be guards to assist you."_

Is there an earthquake?

As soon as I head for the exit I see a man with a gun. "Don't move!"

I am scared witless and I don't know what to do. I've never experienced being held up, and being held up in a place you go to often is not exactly a promising feeling.

"Hands in the air, sweet cheeks," the man says with a smirk.

I do as told and put my arms up. However, before he could do anything to me, a cheer is heard near the entrance.

"It's the Golden Ninja!" someone yells. "We're saved!"

I smile really wide. I'm going to see the Golden Ninja up close!

As I head towards the entrance the man grabs me and covers my mouth. "You're not getting away that easily."

"Help!" I yell out even though I am muffled in hopes that maybe someone could hear. "Somebody, help me!"

The man chuckles. "Nobody's gonna help you. They can't even hear you scream."

This is it. I'm doomed, I'm done for. I will never get to live the life I want. Goodbye world, goodbye Golden Ninja...

In the middle of my goodbyes, I feel a pair of arms pull me away from the man and towards them. I open my eyes and I see...

"...the Golden Ninja?" I ask in shock.

He looks at me and smiles. At least I assume he's smiling. I can't really tell under the mask. "Hello there. Have we met before?"

I just look at him wide eyed. "I don't think we have."

"I think we have," he says. "Maybe we can talk about this later. I have some bad guys to beat."

"Okay," I reply, still shocked by the fact that he is talking to me.

He lets go of me and starts trapping the thieves in golden power. He then brings them all to the mall entrance where the police were waiting for him. They immediately handcuff the bad guys and the people quickly rejoice, self included.

It feels good to know that the city is a safer place to be since the Golden Ninja is here to help.

However, it does feel strange to think about what he said: _"Have we met before?"_

Does he really know who I am? If he does, where has he seen me? Maybe he already forgot we even had this conversation and is going to save another part of the city.

Oddly enough, he comes back.

"Hey there, again," he says. He sounds nervous. "Do you wanna get out of here? I just received a basket of goodies and I thought maybe you might want them, as compensation for making you wait."

What did he say? Is he giving me food because he thinks he made me wait? Does he want to take me somewhere?

"Where?" I ask nervously. My knees start to shake. "And you don't have to give me anything. I can do my own groceries—my list!"

How could I forget my list? I look around to see if I put it in my bag or if I dropped it. I see it on the floor ripped to pieces. Now I can't get the stuff I need...

"Looks like you need the gift basket more than me," he says as he puts his hand on my shoulder. "I really think we've met before. Wanna go somewhere? I can take you anywhere on my Golden Dregen."

Dregen? That's funny. One of my old students used to pronounce it that way.

I chuckle and it seems he noticed it.

"What's so funny?" he asks.

I shake my head. "It's nothing. We can go anywhere, really. I'd prefer it if we could be alone together, but if you wanna go somewhere public, that's fine with me too."

Smooth, Summer Styles. That was real smooth.

"I know a great place where we could be alone," he says. He offers his hand to me and I take it. "Come with me."

I nod. "Okay..."

I have no idea what's going on, but I like whatever is happening here.

He takes me outside the building and I see a large dragon just sitting in the street. He gets on it, perched the basket on the dragon's head, and offers me a hand. "Get on!"

I take his hand and get on the dragon. "How does this thing work?"

Just as I finish asking the dragon takes off.

"Are...we...FLYING?" I ask, shocked and terrified. I hate heights, and the fact that this dragon flies just adds to the scare factor. I'm not in a car or a plane or inside a building where I know I'm not gonna fall if I lean to the side just a bit. Here, I'm vulnerable. Unless I hold on to something, I'm gonna fall.

"Hold on!" he instructs.

"To what?!" I ask, my fear evident in my screams. "There is nothing to hold on to!"

"Please don't yell," he tells me. "Grab on to me."

Did I hear him right? "To you?"

"Yeah," he replies. "Just grab my shoulders or my waist. Whatever floats your boat."

I cannot believe what is happening. I grab on to his waist and it feels...amazing! I could feel his abs and his toned torso through his Gi. Could this day get any better?

"I forgot to ask," he says after a few minutes of flying. "What's your name?"

That's funny. I assumed he'd know my name. Then again, I was dreaming before. The real Golden Ninja would never know my name right away.

"Can we talk when we get down?" I ask. "I'd rather not talk when we're fifty feet above ground and without ground!"

He chuckles. "Sure! We're near the place anyway. Wanna look down?"

"No!" I immediately reply as I hold him closer.

Not long after I notice that we're landing. I look around and see a beautiful beach scenery with an ocean so blue and sand so tan. This would never happen in one of my dreams. This is actually a lot better.

Once we land on the beach he gets off the dragon. Since I'm in a dress I question how I should get off this creature.

"Do I just slide down like you did?" I ask.

"There's an easier way," he replies.

"Easier way?" I repeat. What could be easier than sliding down a huge dragon—

My thoughts are interrupted by the disappearance of the dragon beneath me. I fall down fast but I am immediately caught in the arms of the Golden Ninja.

"Glad I caught you," he says and I blush. "If I didn't, you'd have a face full of sand by now."

"Well, you can put me down now," I tell him. "So, we'll be staying out here?"

As he puts me down he points to a little house not far from where we stand. "We have a small beach house if you'd rather stay indoors."

I nod. "I'd like that."

The two of us walk together and I make a move by moving closer towards him and rub my hand against his. He ends up looking at me and he takes my hand and we run across the beach. As we neared the house I lose my footing and I fall. Of all surfaces to land on, I land on him.

"Oh my gosh!" I exclaim. "I am so sorry. I didn't mean to land on you."

"I could get used to this position," he tells me. "Oh yeah, I just remembered: what's your name?"

That's right. I haven't introduced myself yet.

I look into his eyes and I put a lock of hair behind my ear. "I'm Summer. Summer Styles. How about you, Golden Ninja in shining Gi?"

He lifts his mask away from his face and makes a goofy grin. "I'm Lloyd Garmadon."

"Lloyd Garmadon..." I repeat. "Why does your name sound familiar?"

I look at his features: his bright blond hair, his bright green eyes, that familiar smirk—he looks like my student in Darkley! But that can't be right. Last time I remember, Lloyd was still twelve or thirteen. This boy—this man in front of me has to be at least eighteen years of age.

"Were you a student in Darkley School?" I ask hesitantly.

He nods. "Yeah, how did you know that?"

I immediately get off of him. "OH MY GOSH!"

It's really him! But how?

"How can you be Lloyd Garmadon?" I ask in surprise. "You were thirteen last year!"

He sits up and looks at me. "I accidentally took a tea that aged me. How do you know who I am?"

I bundle my hair up in a bun and look at him. "Because I'm Miss Styles, your Math teacher."

He stares at me and his eyes widen with a look of realization. "Holy crap!"

I let my hair down and look at the sand. "I bet I kind of turned you off, huh?"

"Turn me off?" he asks. "Of course not! I knew you were familiar! If anything, I thought I turned you off, since I'm your student and everything."

I look back at him. "So you're not turned off?"

"Not at all!" he replies. "If anything, I'm more attracted to you! I've always had a crush on you when you were my teacher. You were pretty and funny and really cool."

Now that I look at him, he's not quite the student I had before. "I always wanted to know what it was like to hook up with a former student."

"And always wanted to know what it feels like to go out with my teacher," he says with a smirk.

He moves closer to me and I move closer to him. Being the older of us two, I initiate the kiss. Boy, the kiss escalates into something more when he stands up and pulls me up with him. I put my hands around his neck to further close the gap between our faces. He attempts to move us but since my legs drag along the ground, I decide to wrap them around his waist. I feel my back hit a wall and I immediately scream in pain.

"Sorry," he apologizes, temporarily releasing our kiss.

"It's okay," I reply. "Just get in the house already."

I pull our lips back together and we enter the beach house. Shortly after my back collides with a bed.

His lips pull away from mine once again and I frown. "I'm not really sure what happens after this," he says shyly.

"Put your lips back here and find out," I reply as I lick my lips.

He does as told and I slither my tongue in between his lips. He gasps but I immediately put my hands behind his head to keep his mouth from parting with mine. My tongue touches his and they immediately intertwine. It feels kind of gross though so I release his head.

"That felt wrong," I say to him.

He nods in agreement. "Yeah. Let's not do that again. Anything else we can do?"

"Well..." I start off, knowing exactly what to do.

0-0-0-0-0

"That was amazing."

I finally went where my dreams could not take me— _all the way_. I will say that it did not feel the least bit strange doing it with my former student.

"Yes, it was."

We stay quiet for about a few minutes before he speaks up. "I don't mind another go."

"You're not tired?" I ask.

He shakes his head. "No, not at all. In fact, let's do it again."

I smile. After all, he's still a kid. He's still got a lot of energy.

 **Author's Note:** MY EYES! MY HANDS! BURN IT!

Actually I kinda like it. I kinda wish I didn't have to use a self insert. This would be so much better if I just used a canon ship like Bruise or Lava or Plasma or even Jaya and Garsako. There's just no way Lloyd would do this with anyone, regardless of gender.


	7. Episode ?: Growing Pain

**Day 8** : _Write something for season 2_

 **Episode ?: Growing Pain**

"It feels so weird to be older."

"Don't get used to it. Being grown up is a big responsibility. There's still a lot to learn before you do anything."

"Are there any fun stuff that you can do when you grow up?"

Cole shakes his head. "Lloyd, there's no time for fun and games. We have to prepare you for the final battle."

"Give it a rest, Cole," Kai interrupts. "Lloyd is still a kid at heart. Let him have some fun."

Jay nods. "And grown ups don't have to stop enjoying themselves. A little fun never hurt anybody."

Cole sighs. "Fine. Lloyd can have one day of fun, but after that he has to start training for the final battle. The three of you can go out together. Just make sure you get back here by seven."

"Whatever you say, mom," Jay says with a smirk before the three run out of the dojo.

Cole slowly walks out the door want watches the three as they run down the street where Grand Sensei Dareth's Dojo stands before they eventually make a left. He sighs.

Zane approaches him and puts a hand on Cole's shoulder. "Why didn't you go after them?"

"I don't have time for their childish games," Cole replies. "Someone has to stay behind and make sure that the preparations for Lloyd's training are complete and won't break while he's gone. I have yet to finish his training regimen. If Lloyd loses that final battle against the Overlord, it's gonna be my fault."

"There's no need to put so much pressure on yourself, brother," Zane tells him. "I'll keep an eye on them, if that is what you wish."

Cole nods. "Thanks, Zane. Watch their every move. Make sure they don't do anything that could potentially injure Lloyd. I'm counting on you."

Zane smiles at Cole and quickly leaves the dojo.

"Now," Cole says as he looks at the unkempt training area. "How do I make this place fit for Lloyd's training?"

0-0-0-0-0

"Where do we go first?" Kai asks Jay and Lloyd. "I wanna try Mega Monster Amusement Park."

Jay shakes his head. "We have to go to an arcade. There are new games released this week and I wanna check them out!"

Lloyd looks at his two older friends. Their options are both very good, but there's a chance that both options could take them all day. Mega Monster Amusement Park opens at one and closes at ten, the arcade opens at ten and closes at eight.

"Maybe," Lloyd starts. "We could go to the arcade now and have lunch there, and we can go to Mega Monster later in the afternoon. How does that sound?"

Jay and Kai look at Lloyd, then at each other, and back at Lloyd and they nod. "Let's do it!"

The three of them head to the arcade near the dojo. The new games are displayed near the entrance of the arcade. Since today is a weekday, there are not much people around, which means that nobody is playing the new units.

"Save our spot," Jay tells Kai and Lloyd. "I'll get tokens."

Once Jay leaves for the counter Lloyd looks at the new unit. Fist Fighter V, it says in bold letters just above the screen. The other one says Dance Magic. There is also a new rhythm game called YuYu!

"These new games look awesome," Lloyd tells Kai.

"They're definitely something," Kai replies. "They look kind of complicated, though. I'm not a huge fan of technology."

That's something new, Lloyd thinks to himself. How could he have known that Kai is not a fan of video games or gadgets in general?

Jay comes back with a huge sack of tokens. "Let's chop sockey this unit!"

As Jay inserts two tokens, Lloyd pushes a button and selects his character. "Dibs!"

"Hey," Jay says. "I was gonna choose him."

"You snooze, you lose, Walker," Lloyd tells him. "You're gonna have to pick another character."

0-0-0-0-0

"There, all done."

Cole looks at his finished work. The training dummies are all in place, the apparatuses are where they are supposed to be, the bench presses are not far from the training course, and the uneven bars and balance beam are in an isolated part of the dojo.

"All where they are supposed to be," Cole tells himself. "Not an item out of place. If only Lloyd was here to test it all out."

He looks at the clock and then at his regimen.

"That's right!" he exclaims in realization. "I forgot his diet! He'll need a protein-rich diet composed of meat, chicken, eggs, and tofu. He will also need a lot of calcium so he won't break any bones during his training—Dareth!"

Cole looks back at his training course and notices that the equipment has been touched. Five out of seven dummies are knocked down, some machines are used and out of place, and the bench presses have been moved. If the uneven bars were not in tact, Cole would have screamed.

It's just some minor details, Cole tells himself. This is easy to fix.

"Sorry, Cole," Dareth tells him. "I, uh, just...you need any help?"

Cole shakes his head. "No, Dareth. I got this."

0-0-0-0-0

The three head to Mega Monster Amusement Park with Zane not far behind them. Zane watches as the three buy their tickets.

"One thousand yen for a ticket?" Lloyd complains. "I used to pay five hundred yen to enter."

"That's what happens when you're older," Kai replies. "You have to live with it."

"I didn't wanna grow up," Lloyd mutters quietly but loud enough that they could hear.

Jay leans at the counter and appears to be whispering something. With Zane's advanced hearing, he could listen to their conversation. "He just turned fifteen, so he's not used to the high prices."

The woman at the counter nods and gives them their tickets.

When the three are finally inside the park, Zane buys a ticket for himself. He then enters and follows them from a distance. All the while, he could hear their conversation.

"Lloyd's being kind of a jerk today," Jay whispers to Kai.

"Give him a rest, Jay," Kai whispers back. "He's still a kid. He'll need time to realize he's grown up.

"How much time?" Jay asks. "We can't let him think he's still a kid. We have to stop babying him, Kai. And whether you like it or not, I'm gonna start treating him like the adult he is supposed to be."

Jay walks ahead of Kai, and Kai sighs in surrender.

Zane knows that Jay is not the type of person who stays quiet, especially when something is bothering him. Kai is rather vocal, too, but he has a tendency to say the wrong thing so he does not bother sometimes.

Kai catches up with the rest of the group and asks them what they want to do next.

Jay suggests the roller coaster, Kai suggests the pendulum, and Lloyd suggests the bump cars. Personally Zane would not choose any of them. The G-force in the roller coaster alone would most likely damage his circuits, but with the combined force of all three rides, Zane would lose more than just his marbles.

The three head towards the bump cars, much to the dismay of Jay and Kai. Kai shrugs it off, but Jay drags his feet along the way.

0-0-0-0-0

Cole looks at his menu with a satisfied smile. He cannot cook, so he had asked Misako for help.

The meat is cooked to perfection, the chicken is not the least bit dry, and the tofu is like velvet when served as a dessert. Even the milk is nice and frothy once it had been turned into a milkshake. There is also a thick bar of homemade dark chocolate to boost the production of serotonin, a.k.a. the happy hormone! Who says you can't eat good food when eating healthy?

"Now that his new diet menu is in check, what else can we improve on to prepare Lloyd?" Cole asks nobody in particular.

He puts a hand on his chin as he thinks about what he should do next. His eyes widen in realization and he pats his a fist in his other hand.

"I got it!" he exclaims. "Lloyd has to exercise his mind as well as his body! He needs brain teasers, mind bogglers, logic quizzes, and thinking games. What good is a strong body if you don't have a strong mind?"

He takes out his phone and starts searching for quizzes he could give Lloyd. He finds a few links that seem useful and he saves them in his notes.

Once he looks back at the menu, he notices that some of the meats and one of the milkshakes are gone.

"My menu!" Cole yells. What could have possibly happened to the food that he had asked Misako to prepare for Lloyd?

"Was that yours?" a voice asks.

Cole turns to look at the owner of the voice and he sees Dareth with a chicken drumstick in hand. "No, but I was going to take a picture of it for future reference."

Dareth puts the plate and glass of milkshake down. "Sorry, Cole. Didn't know you needed that."

"It's okay, Dareth," Cole replies. "I can always ask Misako to help me with it again."

0-0-0-0-0

Kai and Jay are forced to ride one bump car while Lloyd rides one by himself, and this bothers Kai. Why? Lloyd's strategy: bump them as many times as he can.

It is not like Kai does not like to share a bump car with Jay—in fact, he enjoys sitting next to a slim boy for once instead of a muscular lad like Cole.

Speaking of which, Kai thinks to himself. I wonder how he's doing. I hope he's not too stressed out.

Kai and Cole would never fit in this small bump car. Maybe Zane would fit, but Jay provides a bit of elbow room.

The problem with sharing a bump car is that both of them are on the receiving end of Lloyd's collisions.

Lloyd bumps their car from the front and the force causes the two to move backwards.

"That's one for the Green Ninja," Lloyd cheers.

Kai moves the steering wheel but the car stays in its place. "What's going on? I think we picked a faulty car, Jay."

"Have you tried pushing the pedals?" Jay asks in annoyance.

Kai pushes one of the pedals with his foot and the car starts to move. At the moment of his release, the car stops. He pushes the pedal again and holds it down, this time the car is moving at a much longer period. However, right before he makes a turn, their bump car gets hit from behind.

"Score two for the Green Ninja!" Lloyd cheers. "And that's zero for the Red and Blue Ninja."

Kai moves the car about, and he notices Jay's lack of smile.

"I swear, if he hits us one more time, I'm gonna lose it," Jay says in frustration.

Kai puts a hand on Jay's shoulder and rubs it back and forth. "Give him time, Jay. He's still learning."

Jay looks back at Kai and it looks like a smile is supposed to form on his lips. Sadly, the smile is discontinued by the bumping of their car from one side. Kai's face ends up landing on Jay's shoulder.

"I've..." Jay starts quietly but rather menacingly. "...had...ENOUGH!"

Lightning bolts flow out of Jay's fingertips to the bump car to the entire bump car ride. This lightning causes a circuit to blow in the bump cars.

"Ladies and gentlemen," an announcement comes from the intercom. "Due to a malfunction in the ride, we suggest that you evacuate this ride immediately. We are sorry for taking your time. Please visit the other attractions."

Kai, Jay, and Lloyd get out of their bump cars and head to the ride's exit with Jay and Lloyd both obviously pissed off.

"What was that for?" Lloyd asks Jay. "I was totally winning!"

"You weren't winning," Jay replies. "You were just bumping our car over and over again without letting us move."

"That's the whole point," Lloyd says. "I'm supposed to score as many points as I can. It's just like that video game."

Kai recalls the video game incident. Lloyd was using the same moves over and over again, which kept Jay from making a single move. When Jay managed to use an effective combo and won, Lloyd just stood up and threw a tantrum.

"When are you going to admit to yourself that you're not a kid anymore?" Jay asks, his anger finally present in his tone of voice. "We can't let you keep winning. That's not the point of being grown up. That's not the point of being anything!"

"News flash, Jay: I was a kid yesterday," Lloyd replies. "You still have to treat me like I'm a kid. You're supposed to play fair."

"Fair?" Jay repeats in a questioning manner. "'Fair isn't a word where you come from,' right? That's why you don't play fair. That's why you keep winning. That's why we're forced to let our guard down for some immature brat. You're not fair at all, so what gives you the right to say you're the Green Ninja?"

It is clear that Jay is done with Lloyd. He has shown no mercy in his choice of words. Jay is rarely angered, but today he is enraged.

Kai sees this as his cue to ease the tension between the two of them. "Hey, aren't we here to have fun? This is Lloyd's last day of freedom before he's officially an adult. Let's do something we can all enjoy."

Lloyd nods in agreement. "Kai's right, Jay. It's my last day of fun. I'm giving you a choice: you can either join us and have fun with us, or leave us alone and go home. The choice is yours."

Kai looks at Jay who looks at him and at Lloyd. Jay sighs and frowns.

"I'll see you guys at the dojo," he says before leaving the two.

Maybe Jay's right—perhaps it's about time that Lloyd realizes he's an adult.

0-0-0-0-0

"Great," Cole sighs. "It's past six and none of them are back yet. I already have the dojo set up, his daily menu is ready, and he has logic games and quizzes prepared on the computer that I just have to print out. Is there anything else I can do?"

Cole looks around and he sees that everything is back in place. After the small predicaments with Dareth, Cole managed to to put everything back where they should be. The food, however, is already consumed so he can only get it back when it's Lloyd's time to train.

"I can't relax yet," Cole tells himself. "Lloyd still has a lot to do before the Final Battle. There is still a lot of preparation to do before that day comes. But first, maybe I need some cake."

He enters the dining area and sees Sensei Wu, Misako, and Dareth drinking tea.

"Where are the others?" Sensei Wu asks.

"They went out," Cole replies. He adds nothing more in hopes that his Sensei will not be disappointed in him for letting them have fun for Lloyd's last day of freedom.

"Cole," Sensei Wu starts. "We need to talk."

Cole is confused, but he sits down next to his teacher. "What is it, Sensei Wu?"

"Dareth and Misako told me what you've been doing," he says. "It's very kind of you to care about your teammate, but you shouldn't be tiring yourself over this battle."

"Tiring?" Cole repeats. "Who's tiring who? I'm not tired. And my preparations aren't done yet."

Just as Cole says this, his stomach makes a loud gurgling noise.

"Have you eaten at all today, kid?" Dareth asks.

Cole shakes his head. "I had to finish setting up before I could think about eating. I kinda want cake now to give me some energy, but just as a snack."

"Eat up now, Cole," Misako tells him. "You can continue your preparations tomorrow. Right now, you too have to rest."

Cole nods. "Okay. I am pretty hungry."

0-0-0-0-0

"Jay, wait!"

Jay looks back and sees Zane. "Zane? What are you doing here?"

"Cole told me to look out for you guys," Zane replies. "Why aren't you with Kai or Lloyd?"

Jay folds his arms and makes a hmph sound. "You tell me. I'm not going anywhere with that immature brat."

"Don't blame him," Zane tells him. "He still thinks he's a child. He is bound to figure out that he is grown up any time soon."

"Maybe if you don't baby him so much, he'll figure it out much sooner," Jay spits out. "Say whatever you want about him. I'm going back to the dojo. Join them if you want—be my guest!"

At these words, Jay walks away, neither satisfied nor regretful for lashing out at Zane. Zane did not deserve to get yelled at, but now Jay has told Zane how he feels.

It is a long and quiet walk back to the dojo, and for once Jay finds solace in the silence.

0-0-0-0-0

"I think we better get back to the dojo."

Lloyd looks at Kai, obviously confused. "Go back? Why?"

Kai sighs. As much as he hates to admit it, Jay is right. Lloyd is being immature and unreasonable, and he should know what it is like to be grown up.

"Listen," Kai says. "I'm not saying this to be against you, but Jay's right. You have to learn to grow up."

Lloyd groans. "You already know that I was literally a kid yesterday. I still need to adjust to this new age. Is it my fault I still don't know how to behave?"

"Yes," Kai replies. "It is. You're being immature and unreasonable, but you don't have to be. Not even kids are like that all the time, so why not you?"

Lloyd crosses his arms and pouts. "I'm not immature."

"You're being immature right now," Kai points out. "Listen, Lloyd: it's possible to be grown up and have fun without being childish and immature."

"It is?" Lloyd asks as his arms fall by his sides.

Kai nods. "Yes, it is. Take Jay, for example. He may be a bit childish, but he knows his responsibilities. He likes to have fun, but he doesn't have too much fun."

Lloyd nods. "I see."

"And you, like the rest of us ninja, have responsibilities as well," Kai tells him. "Starting tomorrow you have to train for the final battle, but it's okay to have a little fun while you're training. Not too much fun, though."

"You're right," Lloyd finally admits. "I guess I'm accountable for my own actions, huh?"

Kai nods with a smile. "Now you're starting to sound like an adult!"

Lloyd laughs as Kai put a shoulder behind his neck. "Can we go home now? It's getting late and I'm starving."

0-0-0-0-0

"And I just want you to know that I'm sorry."

Jay looks at Lloyd and smiles. "Apology accepted, kiddo. Are you sure you're ready to take the responsibilities of being an adult?"

"Yeah," Lloyd replies a bit eagerly. "Teach me how to adult!"

Jay, Kai, and Zane laugh in unison as they watch Lloyd's eagerness to be an adult.


	8. Surprise!

**Day 9:** _Write a crack ship -_ **Surprise!**

Is it weird that I like him? Kai hates him, and I feel like he wants me to hate him, too. Should I still bother?

We have something in common, but I'm not sure if he knows it yet.

What am I saying? How can I even like a guy I haven't even met? Sure, I saw him once during the Tournament of Elements, but back then I didn't know what I was capable of, so how was I supposed to know we had that in common?

Wait...was I there during the Tournament?

No. I wasn't there until later, when the ninja had a little alliance with some of the other elemental masters.

I think I did see him, though. When the prisoners escaped, I managed to get a glimpse of him. It was only after the tournament when Kai told me all about him. Then again, he also told me about how he was worried that he and Skylor might be related because he thought they shared the same element, but was relieved that they weren't.

Does that mean that Lar and I are related?


End file.
